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Sweden's GDP swells quicker than expected

Sweden's economy increased more than expected during the year's first quarter as consumption expenditures and production of goods and services rose, according to figured released by the statistics office Wednesday.

The figures confirming once more the rock-solid fundamentals of the Scandinavian economy.

“This shows that Sweden, after all, is incredibly resistant and that we’re not just an export-country but that we also have a strong domestic economy,” Knut Hallberg, an analyst at Swedbank, told Bloomberg. “It looks as if the worst is behind us. The only thing that could pull the economy back into negative territory is if the euro crisis escalates in a significant way.”

The figures made the Swedish krona strengthened against the euro, paring a third monthly decline.

“The Swedish economy is doing considerably better than feared,” Kjersti Haugland, senior economist at DNB ASA (DNB) in Oslo, wrote in an e-mailed note to clients, according to Bloomberg. “Today’s numbers reduce the risk of more rate cuts from the Riksbank.”

The statistics office said that the Swedish gross domestic product grew by 0.8% on the quarter and by 1.5% compared with a year earlier.

Total employment, measured as the number of hours worked, increased 1.0 percent while the number of employed persons increased 0.8 percent.